Oklahoma State Offers Twitter Recruiting Dynamo in Linebacker Wyatt Simmons
STILLWATER – It happens increasingly less frequent but even with social media, the internet, and many more sources out there for football recruiting information than ever before there is that prospect that is under the radar. The one that hasn’t surfaced and is unknown to not only the recruiting media, but also the schools that have more people than ever before looking under every rock for that next scholarship offer. The NCAA transfer portal may have allowed for more surprises in the high school ranks as attention gets split in evaulating portal inhabitants and high school prospects. So, linebacker Wyatt Simmons of Harding Academy in Searcy, Ark. puts up a Twitter site and then posts his junior highlight video. Then in the span of 11 days he has 18 offers and growing from Division I schools.
The 6-3, 215-pound Simmons’ dad is Paul Simmons, who is the head coach at Harding University and he has navigated that school into NCAA Division II success. Father offered son and may have thought he was going to keep him there in Searcy. He might still, but after putting the video up on Twitter SMU jumped first and then came the likes of Oklahoma State, Arkansas State, Arkansas, Miami (Fla.), Auburn, Illinois, Baylor, Mississippi, Illinois, UAB, UTSA, Tulsa, Mississippi State, UNLV, and Utah State.
I watched the tape and what I saw was a very smart football player that looks like a coach’s son. He sees things quicker in reading run and pass, flow of the play, cutbacks, you name it. He is mentally looking for edges in shortcutting to get to the ball.
He has speed, but also looks like he has been a wrestler as he makes very physical and sure tackles with leverage.
He does play other sports at Harding with basketball and he has done both the jumps, relays, and discus and shot put in track and field.
The football numbers don’t lie as last season he had 84 tackles, 15 tackles-for-loss and some of those came not on the perimeter but with him shortcutting pursuit up the middle because of a stellar read. He had six sacks and getting his hands on the football scored two defensive touchdowns. One on an excellent middle of the field read of the quarterback. He sat, sat, and then pounced on the receiver as the ball was released. It is a pretty play that shows off his football IQ. On offense, Simmons carried 12 times for 61-yards and two touchdowns. He caught two passes for 109-yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Somebody is going to be very fortunate to get Simmons, and it may be his dad.